“A fascinating and audacious novel about family, marriage, and a society in flux.” —Kirkus
Marriage and Other Monuments
In the summer of 2020, as social justice protests and the removal of Confederate monuments rock the city of Richmond, Virginia, the marriages of two estranged sisters also implode, eventually bringing them closer, while their husbands conspire in a racial reckoning their ancestors would never have dreamed of. Marriage and Other Monuments also shows how secrets within a marriage erode trust, and that for couples to evolve they must be true to who they are as individuals and as members of an imperfect society.
Virginia Pye shares some backstory to the novel: “I’ve always wanted to write a book set in Richmond. After watching from afar the events there during the summer of 2020, I was brought back to the question of that complicated, maddening, yet beautiful place and how or whether I could capture it on the page, along with my own experience as a wife. Marriage, sisters, class, race, and that particular moment in time (including Covid) are all essential elements of the book.”
Praise for Marriage and Other Monuments
“Marriage and Other Monuments is a riveting contemporary narrative that intertwines suspenseful family drama, powerful themes of social justice, and a plot ripped soulfully from the headlines. Pye tells a story of race, marriage, and politics ideal for book club discussions and sure to satisfy readers of every stripe.”
Bruce Holsinger“The personal is political in this smart, engaging novel as the sister’s marriages become entangled with new allegiances and both couples are forced to examine what truly matters for all time.”
Alice Elliot Dark“An engrossing, timely family saga, Virginia Pye’s Marriage and Other Monuments explores complicated truths about race and class—and love and desire—in the contemporary south, shining a brilliant light on the turmoil of 2020 through the lens of history.”
Joanna Rakoff“Superb. With startling command of craft, Virginia Pye delivers a novel in which small triumphs—of art and in life—become the abiding monuments, as love, and the failures of love, eclipse politics.”
Alice Randall“A marvelous tale…a moving drama…written with faith that justice can prevail if people of good will make it happen.”
Christopher Tilghman“In Marriage and Other Monuments, Virginia Pye vividly captures a pivotal moment in recent history and successfully applies the myriad of questions asked—the hows and whys and cause and effect—to the institution of marriage. Like history, her complicated and conflicted characters are left to the reckonings and consequences of their choices.”
Jill McCorckle